HoboTrumpet

I think I knew that I wanted to play an instrument since, as my grandpa would say, "you went to the dance with dad and came home with mom." In other words, forever. Anyway, when it was time for me to choose an instrument in 5th grade I had a lot of choices, as dad owned quite a few instruments. Eventually I whittled the choices down to sax and trumpet, with a 4-valve rotary Czech tuba in reserve if I absolutely had to use it. The sax idea was removed from the fray because the only sax we had in the house was grandpa’s Selmer Mark VI tenor, and dad wasn’t going to let a little brat like me lug that fine hunk of metal to school. So the trumpet sort of chose itself. Luckily, when I went to the first day of band, the director thought that the trumpet and me would “work out okay.” There’s been a few days here and there that I would argue his choice of words, but for the most part he turned out to be correct after all these years.

__________________
Bb: Yamaha 8335G
C:Yamaha 6445H

eisprl

It all started in grade 6. We were given three choices. My first choice was saxohpone, then trombone then drums. Since they handed out instruments in alphabetical order I got the last choice. All the good instruments were taken so the teacher gave me a trumpet. My start to trumpet playing wasnt any specific concert or player that I've seen (it was because all the "good" instruments were taken - so I thought).

Shortly after our Cadet Sqn founded a marching band. So I basically began trumpet on my feet. I found myself to be pretty good (for my age) so I decided to go to university for it. Ever since I started the trumpet I fell in love with it and every performance I see/perform myself makes me love it even more.

Turns out the good instruments were not all taken. If I knew that the trumpet was the best instrument in a band I would have made it my first choice! Now I get paid to play it. I tell ya, if you told me back in grade six that I could get paid what I do now just to play the trumpet I would have never believed you.

Eric

__________________
Eric Sproul
Practice is like filling a leaky bucket

Bb: Yamaha Xeno 8335
C: Bach Stadivarious 239L and 25A leadpipe (Owned by Eric Sholtz)
Flugel: Yamaha Bobby Shew 6310Z
Mouthpieces: GR tech
www.stadband.ca

frank

I started pretty late at 19. Anyway, the first contact with a trumpet was on a garden party, where somebody had a trumpet and I had fun honking like crazy on that thing. Later on a friend of the family came to our home, made me try playing and I could play a C major scale right away. That was the beginning and I soon played in a church brass ensemble, then also in an amateur symphony orchestra. Finally I switched to jazz and am currently playing in a big band. That is the short version.

__________________

mbtpter227

My parents always had jazz music playing on our living room stereo, the good stuff of course. The sounds of Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Maynard Ferguson, Wynton Marsalis, Chet Baker, Chuck Mangione, etc etc was always permeating throughout the house. I always loved the sound of the trumpet more than any other instrument and had my heart set on playing it. The day my father brought down his trumpet from high school was an exciting day! My love for the instrument grows more each and every day.

__________________
-Matt

"Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art."
-Charlie Parker

horn:
'79 Benge 3x
MP:
Schilke 17, Bach 3C

Magnusverdixon

__________________
Sincerely,

Russell Dixon
______________________________________
Yamaha YTR-8340EM Custom Trumpet
Monette Prana (LT) BL-2J mouthpieces
http://www.trumpetgig.com
http://www.myspace.com/rustoleusmaximus

FunnyValentine

Thanks for creating such a wonderful thread topic!!

I was in early junior high school. I wanted to play the trombone but none were available and my uncle who played trumpet himself got one for me. In retrospect , I am glad that only the trumpet was available but I remember not feeling that way at the time!

I went on to play in high school marching, orchestra and dixieland bands as well as travel around the U.S. with an American Legion band.

After college I stopped playing and pursued a career in high school and college teaching. About 6 to 8 months ago I , once again, got the urge to play and bought a horn on ebay. I now play for my own enjoyment and I'm in the arduous process of trying to build up my chops again after about a 25-30 year layoff!! OUCH!! It sometimes can be frustrating to encounter pieces that I vividly remember killing as a "kid" and now struggle with but it's such a pleasure to just relax with the horn and blow....
my father who also played in a band with me years ago, was delighted to learn that I had once again taken up the horn.
A few weeks later I played taps at his funeral...I may buy better horns in the future but I'll never sell that old Yamaha 2320 and I still blow taps sometimes while practicing and think of him.

PrettyT

After learning to read music as a child, I went to my mother and gave her my choice of instruments.. Her exact response was "Violins are for women and faggots!" She thought a trumpet would be more appropriate.

Makke

Both my parents played in a marching band when I was born. My father was chairman of the board and as a gift he got free membership for me. Although I got this gift my parents always gave me the choice to start playing something. When I was 7 I said I wanted to try trumpet. And so the story began.

Now, 18 years later, I played trumpet almost all this time. I made a wrong turn trying tuba, but after a short while (3 months) I decided it wasn't for me. Also played Eb horn for about 2 years when I was 12. It was a nice instrument, but then I was asked to fill in for a trumpeter and got hooked again. Haven't done anything else since. My parents bought me my own trumpet when I was 16 or 17 years old. That was probably the best gift I ever recieved from them, as I still play it today. I went through so much with that horn I will probably play it till I die.

Well, that's my story :)

NickD

I thought Herb Alpert was really cool. I wanted to be HIM. So, I used money I made from mowing lawns to pay for lessons on an old Olds my mom rented from Mel Bay Music in Kirwood, Missouri. Then, I bought a bunch of old Decca sides of this crazy Mexican trumpeter, Refael Mendez! Now I was really hooked! I wanted to play like THAT! So, I started learing all his tunes by ear and buying the charts from Mel Bay. THEN, I discovered Doc Severinsen. At this point the deal was completely sealed. After that I got into Clark Terry and Maynard. I didn't play a lick of jazz till I was a sophomore in college. I hooked up with the Merrimac Community College Big Band to cut my teeth. Before that it was just the concert bands at UMR and Wash U along with a few odd gigs here and there around St. Louis. My very first trumpet teacher was Bill Bay, Mels son. When he had to take over the store, I took from Eddie Brauer through the rest of high school.

That's the start, in a nutshell.

Peace, all!

Nick

__________________

NickD
"Free Online Lessons in Extreme Trumpet Playing"
http://www.nickdrozdoff.com
http://www.newyorktrumpetcompany.com/
http://www.myspace.com/nickdrozdoff

michael shanks

The way I got in to playing trumpet is when my teacher first played in first grade I fell in love with the sound it produced and knew i wanted to do it for the rest of my life now for the last seven years I've been playing ever since.But it has only been within the last 10 months I've been practicing for 2 hours a day and it has help me out tremendously I play about 2 to 3 scales and some tech scales to work my fingers . this has proven to me to woek for warming up any way this is how I fell in love with trumpet I will until I die i can promise you all that.